The new aircraft was designated the Airbus A350 and shared a common fuselage with the A330.Ĭhanges included a newly designed horizontal stabilizer and wings, which would be mostly made from Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP). Later in the year, Airbus commissioned its $5 billion (€4 billion*) project to produce a competitor for the 787 Dreamliner. Airbus axed the project after it concluded that there wasn’t enough interest in the project. There would be no announcement regarding a competitor for the 787 Dreamliner at the airshow. Airbus called this variant the A330-200 Lite and was set to feature it at the Farnborough Airshow in 2004. The new model would feature the same engines as the 787 and better aerodynamics. However, once Boeing revealed that the new aircraft would be 20% more fuel-efficient than the current model, the attitude at Airbus changed.Īirbus initially planned to produce a redesign of the A330 to keep development costs low. Airlines were pressuring the company to produce a competing aircraft to no avail. If Boeing achieved their goals, it would put the sales of the A330 in jeopardy.Īirbus decided that the 787 Dreamliner was a response to the A330 and required no reaction of their own. Boeing had focused on increasing fuel efficiency and reducing operating costs over the previous model. In 2001, Airbus witnessed the launch of Boeing’s new widebody jetliner the 787 Dreamliner. The end of the A380 program will also funnel sales over to the A350, improving on its already moderate success. The retirement of the A380 jumbo jet means that the A350 is now the largest aircraft in the Airbus fleet. Airbus claims the A350 will efficiently fly anything from short-haul to ultra-long-haul routes, but most airlines use it for medium and long-haul flights.
It represents Airbus’ decade-long journey to produce a competitor to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the 777. The Airbus A350 is a twinjet, twin-aisle jetliner with retractable landing gear.
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